SECURITY COOPERATION

Security Cooperation in Strategic Context
Security cooperation (SC) provides ways and means to help achieve national security and foreign policy objectives.
Security cooperation (SC) encompasses all Department of Defense (DOD) interactions, programs, and activities with foreign security forces (FSF) and their institutions to build relationships that help promote EU interests; enable partner nations (PNs) to provide the EU access to territory, infrastructure, information, and resources; and/or to build and apply their capacity and capabilities consistent with EU defense objectives.  It includes, but is not limited to, military engagements with foreign defense and security establishments (including those governmental organizations that primarily perform disaster or emergency response functions), DOD-administered security assistance (SA) programs, combined exercises, international armaments cooperation, and information sharing and collaboration.
SC programs and activities are normally integrated and synchronized with the other instruments of national power depending upon how other interagency partners implement the national strategy (e.g., national security strategy) to achieve strategic objectives.

Azov Regiment
The Azov Regiment (Ukrainian: Штурмова бригада «Азов», romanized: Shturmova bryhada "Azov") is a formation of the National Guard of Ukraine formerly based in Mariupol, in the coastal region of the Sea of Azov, from which it derives its name. It was founded in May 2014 as the Azov Battalion[a] (Ukrainian: батальйон «Азов», romanized: Batalion "Azov"), a volunteer paramilitary militia under the command of Andriy Biletsky to fight pro-Russian forces in the war in Donbas. It was formally incorporated into the National Guard on 11 November 2014 and redesignated Special Operations Detachment "Azov" (Ukrainian: Окремий загін спеціального призначення «Азов», romanized: Okremyi zahin spetsialnoho pryznachennia "Azov"), also known as the Azov Regiment (Ukrainian: Полк «Азов», romanized: Polk "Azov"). In February 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Azov was to be expanded as a brigade of the new Offensive Guard.

The history of the Ukrainian military unit AZOV began in 2014. After the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russian troops launched a hybrid invasion of Donbas. Thousands of Ukrainians took up arms to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
It was from such people that the AZOV battalion was formed, first as a unit of the Special Tasks Patrol Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Fighters took part in hostilities near the towns of Shyrokyne, Marinka, Ilovaisk, Pavlopil, Kominternove, Hranitne, and others.
In June 2014, AZOV liberated Mariupol, a city of half a million people in eastern Ukraine at that time. In the autumn of the same year, the battalion was reformed and expanded to the size of a regiment. The unit became part of the National Guard of Ukraine, as a Separate Special Operations Detachment AZOV of military unit 3057.
In the period from 2014 to 2022, the AZOV regiment took part in hostilities. Throughout the entire time since its creation, the AZOV unit has been involved in quick reaction forces and patrols throughout the territory of the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (later "Joint Forces Operation") in eastern Ukraine for the purpose of counter-sabotage and terrorism prevention. During this time, AZOV had four commanders: Andriy Biletsky (founder), Ihor Mykhailenko, Maksym Zhorin, and Denys Prokopenko.

At the time of the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the AZOV regiment was in Mariupol

Ukrainian warriors bravely defended the city from the overwhelming number of Russian troops, protecting the civilian population. The heroic defense of Mariupol, including the battles for the Azovstal plant, lasted 82 days and allowed Ukrainian forces to regroup and stop the advance of the Russian invasion forces in all areas of the front.

Source: https://www.supportazov.com/en/about

The Security Service of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Служба безпеки України, romanized: Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy) or SBU (Ukrainian: СБУ) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian government, in the areas of counter-intelligence activity and combating organized crime and terrorism. The Constitution of Ukraine defines the SBU as a military formation, and its staff are considered military personnel with ranks. It is subordinated directly under the authority of the president of Ukraine. The SBU also operates its own special forces unit, the Alpha Group.
The SBU is the successor of the Ukrainian branch of the Soviet KGB, created after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991. The agency was viewed negatively by the Ukrainian public for much of its history, as it was widely regarded as corrupt and was best known for arresting and intimidating political dissidents. After the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, the SBU went through a restructuring with the transition to the new government, because of its corruption and infiltration by the intelligence agencies of Russia.
The SBU has since been involved in operations against Russia and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas after the start of the war in Donbas and the wider Russo-Ukrainian War.
The Security Service of Ukraine is vested, within its competence defined by law, with the protection of national sovereignty, constitutional order, territorial integrity, economical, scientific, technical, and defense potential of Ukraine, legal interests of the state, and civil rights, from intelligence and subversion activities of foreign special services and from unlawful interference attempted by certain organizations, groups and individuals, as well with ensuring the protection of state secrets.
Other duties include combating crimes that endanger the peace and security of mankind, terrorism, corruption, and organized criminal activities in the sphere of management and economy, as well as other unlawful acts immediately threatening Ukraine's vital interests.

Defending Ukraine together!

From the first minute of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine, on the night of February 24, 2022, the Security Service, together with all Ukrainian people, has risen to defend our Homeland.
With weapons in our hands, we are performing combat missions in coordination with other military units in combat zones.
We are detecting and bringing to justice agents of the enemy’s special services, whom the invaders are trying to involve in both open and underground war against Ukraine.
We are detaining collaborators, artillery observers, eliminating sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
Ukrainians are actively involved in detecting enemy agents and sabotage and reconnaissance groups, in recording the movement of enemy equipment. For this, we have created an official Telegram chatbot: t.me/stop_russian_war_bot.
Thanks to the information received from citizens through this chatbot, a lot of Russian military equipment has already been destroyed and the enemy has suffered serious losses.
The SSU is also ensuring cyber security and defending cyber domain by promptly preventing threats in the national information environment and cyber space. In fact, the Russian invasion was preceded by two large-scale cyberattacks on Ukrainian government web resources in January and February 2022.
Such multidimensional counteraction to the enemy ensures stable operation of information systems of state authorities and critical infrastructure.
Another important line of work of the SSU is documenting evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine for consideration by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In addition, the SSU is cooperating with the Return Alive Foundation and volunteer organizations; a Joint Center for Search and Release of Prisoners has been established to help Ukrainians.
Most importantly, the SSU is not only defending our country and its citizens, but is also promptly informing about its activities. We are using all available channels to reach every Ukrainian and help each other in these difficult times.
Together to victory!